through Pentecost to Revelation's hope
of earth and heaven renewed; and in between

the God-child and the king of glory walks

his most unlikely
incarnation—us,

his body now, in via
dolorosa,

the Word made flesh,
redeemed by love to love.

Written for the carol service
("Out of darkness") at St
Johns Church,
West
Ealing in
2013 where it was read by Elizabeth Healey. It was originally performed in two parts, as
a prologue and epilogue to the service. The first
section followed the reading of John 1, 1-5 ("In the beginning was
the Word"). It has been revised considerably since its first reading.

The
phrase nothing is loved at speed is adapted from a prayer written
by the cartoonist Michael Leunig. I have used it in another poem, and make no apology for using it again here as
I know no better way of expressing this truth.

4.8
thousand billion is an approximation of the number of days from the Big Bang to the emergence of
hominids on earth. If my arithmetic is faulty please let me know.

Deoxyribonucleic
Acid is DNA.

via dolorosa ("Way of Sorrows") is the road in Jerusalem
along which Christ is said to have carried his cross to Golgotha.